Susan Stamper Brown: Dumbing down the American Dream

Young Americans received unwelcome news this week when an April 23 AP report found 53.6 percent of college graduates younger than 25 are jobless or underemployed, and there is little hope for improvement in the near future. This news is grim for young Americans as well as an administration in reelection mode.

President Obama attempted to dull the pain young Americans are feeling recently when he told a group of college students in Florida he "wasn't born with a silver spoon in his mouth" then went on to blame the mess we're in on capitalism. He described capitalism as a "broken down theory."

Obama's "broken down theory" statement is wrong on many levels, but chiefly because his statement conveniently erases a significant chunk of American history - that time when Ronald Reagan inherited the worst recession since the Great Depression. It is the "worst" because Reagan and Obama inherited extremely similar recessions, but Reagan's was coupled with double-digit inflation and a 20 percent prime interest rate. Reagan did a lot of things right, including lowering taxes, and before long, the economy boomed.

In sharp contrast, Obama has executed what many describe as "anti-Reagan" economic policies that largely have failed. His latest tax the rich scheme, the "Buffett Rule," was defeated by the Democrat-controlled Senate last week. The Wall Street Journal, says it would have added "$793.3 billion to the deficit over the next decade." I reiterate: It would have increased, not decreased, the deficit.

It is as if liberals are caught up in a constant love/hate relationship with the successful, the job creators, and the "rich" - in that they despise their success, but know full well they'd be unable to spread the wealth around without their money.

At this point, Obama can't help himself because he has surrounded himself with people that share the same anti-capitalism value system. One of those people, Bill Ayers, recently was caught on camera at an Occupy Wall Street rally in New York saying, "I get up every morning and think today I'm going to make a difference, today I'm going to end capitalism." At least he said it with a smile.

For the unaware, Ayers was involved with a group which bombed the U.S. Capitol and Pentagon during the Vietnam years, and openly admits he's a "radical, leftist and small 'c' communist." Ayers has wasted much of his life polluting the minds of naïve college students, similar to what Obama appears to do when he stands before young audiences cherry-picking history and belittling the American Dream.

How disillusioned this group, who flocked to the voting booths en masse for Obama in 2008, must be. Most had no idea Obama's "hope and change" would mean they'd not have the resources to pay for the federal deficit he's piled on their backs, as well as the student loan debt they're drowning in. They never dreamed "change" meant the end of their freedom of choice because Obamacare mandates that all must purchase health insurance, period. Most did not anticipate a lack of ample-paying jobs would force them to live in their parents' basements post-graduation.

Young Americans deserve better and need to understand that the noise coming from the left is just that. Statements suggesting that capitalism is "a broken down theory" are meant to dumb down their expectations to encourage them to exchange the hope of silver spoons for plastic forks. Frankly, the Democratic Party's message of perpetual mediocrity is discouraging to young Americans who have a whole future before them and deserve the opportunity to pursue their version of the American Dream.

Susan Stamper Brown is a motivational speaker and military advocate. She can be reached at susan@susanstamperbrown.com, www.susanstamperbrown.com and Facebook.